As a queer, Black woman who, as a child, was abused, abandoned at age 3, and then raised in poverty, I have had maybe more than my fair share of obstacles to overcome. I don’t know what ingredient kept me from becoming a total dumpster fire of an adult, but if I could figure it out, I would give everybody the recipe to that secret sauce. In the meantime, I read books about other such folks and recommend them to other humans looking for inspiration to keep going in tough times.
In Surely Goodness & Mercy, an odd-ball middle-schooler and a cantankerous lunch lady at a craptacular public school form an unlikely friendship and become heroes in the process. It’s a story that shows us how rewarding it can be to help others, even when — maybe even especially when — we’re feeling helpless ourselves.
I meeeeean… my dude was born in South Africa to a Black mom and a white dad under apartheid when interracial relationships were illegal. He was living proof of the “criminal behavior” that could’ve gotten his mother thrown in prison, his father ostracized, and his little self dropped into an orphanage. He describes how he actually had to walk separate from his father when they were out in public so as not to cause suspicion— that’s some dark shit! Yet he grew up to become one of the funniest people on the planet, hosting one of the most popular American late-night shows ever. Whatever spiritual alchemy had to happen to make that conversion possible? Yeah. I need me some of that.
The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.
One of the comedy world's brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of politics, race and identity, sharing jokes and insights drawn from the wealth of experience acquired in his relatively young life. As host of the US hit show The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he provides viewers around the globe with their nightly dose of biting satire, but here Noah turns his…
Okay, don’t laugh, but once I was watching HGTV—I forget what show— and there was a bit about countertops and why granite is such a popular choice for them. Granite is formed under extreme heat and tremendous pressure, which is what makes it resistant to both of those things. This novel illustrates, in haunting detail, how this notion applies to people. There are characters who get absolutely pummeled by challenges but keep getting right back up. They are hardship-resistant. Meanwhile, the ones who were born into comfort do not fare as well. Made me grateful for every difficulty I encountered early on in life. And the accompanying coping skills.
With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
As the characters move from distrust to friendship…
This book is wildly imaginative for non-fiction. It’s an account of the sex lives of (yup) three women and the very complex desires that fuel them. All were just trying to snatch a little joy for themselves, carnally speaking. And I have to believe that sharing their stories only heightened that joy. I got to know Lisa and hear about her process for collecting the material for this book (which I helped adapt into a TV series for Showtime). I’ve never met anyone so free of judgment, and so ready to understand why people do things that others find unseemly. She is a master of empathy, and I learned how powerful that can be from her and this work.
The International No. 1 Bestseller
A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick
'Cuts to the heart of who we are' Sunday Times
'A book that begs discussion' Vanity Fair
All Lina wanted was to be desired. How did she end up in a marriage with two children and a husband who wouldn't touch her?
All Maggie wanted was to be understood. How did she end up in a relationship with her teacher and then in court, a hated pariah in her small town?
All Sloane wanted was to be admired. How did she end up a sexual object…
I feel the ethos of this book in my very marrow. It’s basically like, “La la-la, I’m a Black person just living my life, trying to enjoy my marriage, start a family, generally be human, but then BAM! Some seriously unjust and disruptive shit totally blindsides me, derails my entire existence, and I just have to figure out how to get back to feeling human again.” After this pandemic, I think everyone can probably relate to this to some degree. (Huh. Covid: The Great Equalizer.)
You’re gonna judge me, but I don’t care because this little book landed on me so hard. My playwriting professor, Rinne Groff, brought it into class to demonstrate the importance of giving your protagonist a clear want, and I have never forgotten it. It’s about a lonely little monkey named Bobo who just wants a hug, but all the animals he approaches in the jungle can’t really give him one because they’re too little or they don’t have arms or whatever and I just wanna be like “I will hug you, little monkey! I will hug you as long as you need!” Because if that shit ain’t a metaphor for what we all go through to find the right kind of love, I don’t know what is.
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Hug
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What is this book about?
A tiny chimp invokes the universal language, uniting his friends in a group hug to end all group hugs. Just try to resist Jez Alborough's latest charmer!
Ever feel like you need a hug? A really big hug from someone who loves you? That's how Bobo, the little chimp in this book, feels. Walking through the jungle he passes lots of creatures enjoying a cuddle together: elephants, chameleons, lions, giraffes, hippos - even the snakes have got someone special to squeeze. But poor Bobo is alone. Will he ever find the hug he needs? Using only the single word "hug"…
Dressed to kill and ready to make rent, best friends Lisa and Jamie work as “paid to party” girls at the Rose City Ripe for Disruption gala, a gathering of Portland's elite.
Their evening is derailed when Lisa stumbles across Ellen, a ruthless politician and Lisa’s estranged mother. And to make matters worse, Lisa’s boyfriend, Patrick, crashes the party to meet his new boss, Portland's food cart drug kingpin. Lisa makes a fateful choice that traps her, Jamie, and Patrick in Ellen’s web. In this gripping thriller, Lisa must reconcile a painful past and perilous present.
Suspected murder, eclectic food trucks, and artisanal cocaine: just another day in Thorn City.
It’s the night of the Rose City Ripe for Disruption gala—a gathering of Portland’s elite. Dressed to kill in sparkling minidresses, best friends Lisa and Jamie attend as “paid to party” girls. They plan an evening of fake flirtations, karaoke playlists, and of course, grazing the catering.
Past and present collide when Lisa stumbles across Ellen, a ruthless politician who also happens to be Lisa’s estranged mother. Awkward . . . When Lisa was sixteen, Ellen had her kidnapped and taken to the Lost Lake Academy—a…
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